Forever Gold
by Paperback-Avenger
Summary: Years after Hold What You've Got. Nancy gets a phone call and the whole world seems to stop.


**I had this idea in the middle of the night and felt as though I should write it. At least I'm posting something since I got back to college-nonetheless, enjoy! **

FAIRVIEW, OKLAHOMA, 2009

In her heart, the morning felt off. Nancy tried to pinpoint what could be wrong with the day as she got herself ready for school. Her lesson plan was tucked under her arm, eliminating what could be creating this feeling. There was no bad phone calls from her kids or grandkids, Steve hadn't woken her up with bad news, and the school hadn't given her a reason to feel strange. Yet, as she walked down the steps of her home, Mrs. Randle couldn't shake any kind of negative feelings off. She waltzed into the kitchen to see her husband brewing a pot of coffee. He smiled to his wife and handed her a cup after he gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"Good morning Nancy," he said calmly as he sat down at the table, but he could tell something was wrong," What's botherin' you, babe?"

"You could always tell when something was off," Nancy smiled, then the smile faded," I don't know what it is. I just have this thumping feeling in my mind and this thought of something being completely wrong. I just don't know what's wrong or if I'm forgetting something."

"Well," Steve shrugged softly," maybe you're rememberin' that today's been thirty years since we moved back to Oklahoma."

That wasn't it. Nancy had already remembered that this morning, but it wasn't the cause of her distress. However, she didn't want to worry her husband even more so, so she simply gave a fake smile and drank her coffee.

"That has to be it," she sighed," You know, I kind of miss that house in Utah. Let's be honest-it was a good house with quite a few memories."

"True," Steve nodded and fiddled with a coffee stirrer," but it wasn't home. In fact, while this feels like a home, it ain't Tulsa."

Nancy had to agree with Steve on that one. Tulsa held a lot of good and bad that became a part of who the Randle parents were. Their children had only gone to the town on holidays and special occasions (like births of cousins or their big family reunion in the 90s) but other than that, the only ones that remained in Tulsa were Darry, Janet, Two-Bit and Marcia-their kids grew up there too, but only Darry's middle son Jay remained in his hometown. Nancy couldn't take her mind off of change, but as she looked at the clock and realized that she had to get moving, she knew her thoughts and this ticking feeling would have to wait until four o'clock.

She kissed her husband and went on her way, her lesson plan tucked closely at her side. Mrs. Randle put her cellphone on silent and tossed it in her glove compartment. She hated to take it into the school, knowing she would be far too busy to even answer calls or texts. Nancy pulled out of her driveway and, as she drove on, allowed the feeling that something was wrong to consume her once more.

"...And I would like to remind everyone that your essays are due next Friday," Nancy mentioned to her sixth period class, "MLA format, two to three pages and I prefer Times New Roman, but Arial's acceptable too!"

Nancy watched her students, who were either listening or nearly passed out. She felt as though she was leading them in the right direction in life-however, if they were sleeping, it was obviously not getting through their heads. Before she could continue her speech, a knock came to the door. She allowed the person to enter the room. Principal Jones poked his head into the classroom. Now the students were up, praying that they wouldn't be the ones he called out. Nancy silently scanned the room for any sort of troublemaker that could come to mind. However, the principal spoke up, shocking the teacher.

"Mrs. Randle," he said," there's a call for you, in my office."

The kids jokingly acted out, curious as to why their teacher was being called out. The principal agreed to watch her class as she went to the call. The somber look on his face scared her as she walked out of her room and down the hall. Who could be calling? She feared that something bad had happened as she walked into the office, picking up the phone rather quickly.

"Hello?" she asked," Who is this?"

"Nancy," Ponyboy's scratchy, tired voice came through," I need you to come down to Tulsa. Darry's going tonight and-"

"I'll be there soon."

Nancy's nightmares came true as she slammed the phone down. She gathered herself as she went back into the classroom. With an explanation to the principal and a quick reminder for her class, she was off to her car. She was worried that she wouldn't make it in time. She felt her heart and chest tighten as she pulled out of the parking lot. Mrs. Randle was calling her husband, already on her way home.

"Baby?" he asked," What's wrong? Aren't you at work?"

"Stevie," she said, choking out her words," I'm on my way back to Tulsa."

"Is it Darry?"

He already knew what was going on. Nancy told him it was, and said she would be back sometime tomorrow. Steve felt horrible as his wife hung up the phone. Darry was sick for a long time, and his death was something that everyone had been fearing. Especially Nancy, who had been close with the eldest Curtis brother since her birth. He bit his lower lip and shoved his phone in his pocket, with a few thoughts in his mind.

After what seemed like years of waiting, Nancy was finally at the hospital. The minute she set foot on the tile, she stopped and took a deep breath. This was a place of a mix of memories. Every step to the front desk was another memory. Her birth...Ponyboy's birth...dead parents...Johnny and Dallas gone...Steve...the birth of her first nephew...each memory was etched in her heart and mind. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of another bad memory. She remembered the conversation, years ago, when she admitted that she couldn't lose anyone else...now, she was faced with that very situation.

"Hello," she told the man at the front desk," I'm here to visit Darrel Curtis."

"Room 207," he said kindly.

She thanked him and went towards the elevator. Not wanting to be in silence for the next few seconds, she decided to call up her younger brother and told him that she was in the elevator. Before the call could end, the door opened and Ponyboy was standing there. She'd seen him about six years ago, when the whole family, Two-Bit, Marcia and their family included, celebrated what would have been Sodapop's 55th birthday in their old home. And, when the night came, the old gang went to the lot where the drive-in used to be (now it was a soccer field) and watched the stars, drinking and remembering all of the shit that they went through. It was before Darry had been diagnosed with his illness and before, once again, everything changed. Her little brother looked so much older than anyone in the family-with grey hair and a face that hadn't remained youthful.

"Someone didn't age well," she joked, her brother giving a look of fake annoyance.

"I could say the same thing about you," Ponyboy sighed and walked beside her," I know this is gonna be hard to see…"

"Pony," she said firmly, standing outside of the room," I've been preparing myself to face this since the cancer spread to his lungs. I knew this day was coming...maybe that's why I was feeling off this morning."

The youngest Curtis brother gave a sad nod. His sister was already broken by her brother's death and he was still alive. He knew how being close was going to hurt them in the end-but he had to let them have one last meeting together. He sighed and glanced into the room. His wife, Joyce, looked into his eyes and nodded. The others saw and knew that Nancy was here. The sister entered the crowded room first. Two-Bit and Marcia were off to the side, having been family as much as the blood relatives. Janet sat on the left side of her husband. Her three sons were all around the bed, while their spouses and children stood around. Nancy felt a chill down her spine as she looked at her brother.

She saw a man that was once like Superman. He was thin and pale, his weight and health had decreased a lot since they'd last seen each other. Nancy could recall times where Darry would jokingly lift her up, or wrestle with his brothers, or lifting what he could at his job. He was the hero Nancy had admired since she was a baby. He was always there for her, and now, she would be there for him.

"Nancy?" he asked softly, his voice shaking and fading more and more.

"Hey Darry," she said as her Darry's youngest boy gave her a chair," Thank you, Andy."

"Shouldn't you be at school? It's Wednesday!"

"I had to be here to see my favorite brother."

"Ah, I knew it," Two-Bit chuckled softly," Darry's the favorite."

"Of course!" Nancy glanced to Ponyboy," Sorry, Pony."

The youngest brother shrugged understandingly. Darry and Nancy sat together, unsure of what to say. However, the silence was a sort of comfort and they didn't need to speak. Until Two-Bit tried to lean against the windowsill and fell down. For the first time in a while, Darry let out a loud laugh. The others were startled, but the laugh was contagious, causing his wife and sister to laugh out loud. Soon, they were all laughing.

"That reminds me of this time at the drive-in theater," Ponyboy mentioned," Dallas was trying to impress Marcia and her friend Cherry and-"

"He fell out of his chair!" Marcia recalled that night, and though it was the night Bob died," that Dallas Winston always caused trouble...but he had a good heart."

The others agreed, recalling a time where Dallas helped Ponyboy from the Socs, or a time that Dallas built a shed with Darry after he'd strained the muscles in his arms, or the time Dallas made Nancy feel better after a bad date. The group missed their old friend, but recalled all of the good times they had together. As the day stretched on, the group talked on and on about the times they spent laughing and enjoying each other. One by one, the family departed, saying goodbye, but feeling sick at the thought of watching their father and friend pass away. The grandkids were confused, but they understood that their grandfather was never coming back. The only ones who stayed were Janet, Pony, Joyce and Nancy. Janet and Darry were sharing their last moments before, in tears, his wife excused herself. Joyce followed, giving the siblings one last time together.

"You know what I'm gonna miss?" Darry brought up," All those times we were actin' like jackasses and gettin' into rumbles. Those were the days…"

The group was quiet for a second, with the eldest brother biting his lip. He took a good look at his little brother, who was growing up faster than Darry hoped for. Darry beckoned for his siblings to come closer to him. They did so as he began to choke out his final words.

"Pony, Nancy," Darry said," When Mom and Dad died, I was horrified. I was gonna have to figure out how to keep you guys safe and I didn't think I would win custody. I thought I would lose y'all for good...keeping you in my life was the best damn thing that ever happened to me. I thought I failed y'all when we lost Soda...I couldn't forget that letter. I kept it in a box with all of his memories. I'm gonna see him soon and I hope he's proud of me."

"Of course he is, Darry," Nancy put a hand on his shoulder,"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being there for us," Ponyboy brought up, choking back his own tears," For raising us, keeping us safe…".

"...And being our Superman."

Darry couldn't help but give a smile to his family. They knew this was the last time their brother would ever smile. As he laid his head down into the pillow, Ponyboy moving close to his sister, crying into her arms, their eldest brother gave out his last words.

"Goodbye Ponyboy...Goodbye, Little One."

Nancy was still sitting in the room. It had been about an hour since her brother had died. Ponyboy had broken down twice-once in the arms of his sister, then in the arms of his wife. Ponyboy and Joyce had taken Janet home, where everyone else had been waiting. They asked Mrs. Randle to come along, but she declined. She needed to be alone, holding a videotape Janet had saved for her sister-in-law. She knew Nancy would need it to get through with the temporary relief of the video of the gang (at the last picnic they had together as a family). So, she popped it into a nearby TV and spent the better half of the hour watching it over and over again.

The video started Mr. and , sitting on a picnic blanket, laughing and being close to one another. They saw the camera and their father gave a wink, telling Ponyboy to be careful with the camera. It then went to Steve, Soda and Darry playing football. They were waving and laughing, talking about how Pony should join in the game, but he refused. Nancy watched as her younger self came onto the TV as she was talking to Dallas and Darry about the book that was in her left hand. In the background, Two-Bit asked Steve if his piece of cake smelled funny, to which the Randle boy got a faceful of chocolate icing. Mr. Curtis could be heard laughing in the background.

Near the end of the video, Nancy found a part that she had to pause at. It was the whole group, smiling for the camera. Everyone was smiling and everyone, in that moment, had been alive. Nancy was in between Darry and Steve, a smile on her face. She had aged so much since that day. She never expected a life like this, where her parents, friends and brother left her life so early, where she almost lost the love of her life and where she felt a forever change in her mind and on her face. And, where she left her true home. She was different and she wondered if it had all been for the better. Of all that people in the image, only four of them were alive, with their lives changed too. But was it all for the better?

As she looked to the floor, a hand was placed on her shoulder. She looked up to see Steve, tears in his eyes and his heart heavy. He was here now and he was changed. As she hugged him close, she knew how every change he went through pushed him further and further into a deep hole. Steve held his wife tightly, swaying her as they both cried.

"I'm so sorry, baby," he whispered, pulling away to kiss her forehead," I wish I could've been there to say goodbye…"

"Steve," she said roughly," Thank you. For staying with me all these years and being the family member we needed. Without you, I think I would've been in a very dark place right now. I...I love you so much."

"I love you too, Nancy."

For a minute, they forgot every death, burden and wrong doing in their lives and focused on what they had. Every good memory flooded their minds and every gem they had to show off came once more. Nancy ejected the tape from the player as she walked out of the room, her husband holding her close. As she thought of every good memory, she had one more to share in her mind…

Darry, tears in his eyes and a dopey smile on his face, at her and Steve's wedding. He walked her down the aisle, watching Ponyboy and Two-Bit, who stood right up there, waiting for Nancy. Janet had her oldest son and her niece, who didn't understand what was going on. Steve was tearing up, but before he could start bawling, he winked to his wife-to-be. Nancy was smiling and laughing with her family. Her brothers shared a dance with her at the reception. And somehow, someway, they knew their parents, Sodapop, Dally and Johnny were watching, happy, proud and damn near crying. And now, as good memories were going to continue onward, Darry would be joining them.


End file.
